Project: Persephone
by CommanderSpectre
Summary: In a Cerberus facility on a backwater planet, Commander Madeline Shepard finds a young woman being used a test subject. She's a decently strong biotic but has no memory of her life before or during her time in the facility. Shepard takes her on board the Normandy and she mostly keeps to herself. She's shy, pleasant even, but only time will if bringing her on board was a mistake.
1. Chapter 1

The planet was a garden world, habitable but with a higher concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere making the plant life grow to almost prehistoric proportions. Let's not mention the insect life.

" _Dios!_ " James exclaimed, flailing briefly. "Where the hell is that facility? I'm pretty sure that mosquito was the size of a chihuahua."

"Just up ahead." Shepard said, humor accenting her voice. "I told you to use bug spray, Vega."

"Fuck bug spray," He grumbled, "Give me a damn flame thrower."

The facility was almost overgrown with vegetation, ivy vines climbing up the sides of the building. All there needed to be is torrential rain and it would remind her of Pragia. As if beckoned, thunder rolled overhead, rain starting a moment later, pattering against leaves and trees, masking the sounds of their approach.

Cerberus troopers in their white armor stood out very stark against the dark, lush green of their surroundings as they patrolled the perimeter. Giving the hand signal to stay put, Shepard snuck up behind the nearest trooper and in a quick move, snapped his neck, pulling him away from the building and out of sight.

"Nice going." James said, "He have a security pass?"

"Got it right here." She said, pulling the slim card from a slot in the armor, attaching it to her own.

"Okay, that'll get us _into_ the building," Garrus said, "Any clue on what we'll find inside?"

"Nope." Shepard said and he gave a sigh.

"Just like old times." He said, "And we still have no idea what this "Project: Persephone" is?"

"No, we do not." Shepard said, "All we know is what Liara's agents manage to weasel out of Cerberus operatives. That it's highly classified and only a few people even know about it. Miranda even had no idea what I was talking about when I asked her about it. Or, at least, she _said_ she had no idea. I guess we'll find out when we get there."

"Granted this isn't another dead end like the last three places." James said and flailed again, "Seriously, can we get inside now?"

"Move out." She said, shaking her head with a smile pulling at her lips. Garrus and James worked good together, but she missed Kaidan. The press of his biotics against her own, the way he always seemed to know exactly where she wanted him, like he could read her mind. But he was light years away, recovering from his injuries in Huerta. The sight of his bruised and bloody face came forward unbidden and she blinked hard to push the image away.

They had just started to patch things up, talking during her incarceration on Earth, having highly supervised meals together when his schedule allowed it. She still loved him and she missed him.

But it wasn't the time nor the place to think about such things, she needed to focus on the task at hand and Madeline Shepard could have incredible focus when she needed to. It's what got her through Akuze: focusing on staying alive even as everyone around her died. It got her through the N7 Sentinel Program, defeating Saren (her only lapse: the perfect night she spent with Kaidan), and destroying the Collector base. Yes, she could be incredibly focused when she needed to be.

Shepard activated her tech armor the moment they entered the base, a firefight erupting almost immediately as troopers opened fire.

 _"It's Shepard!"_ The call went out, scientists scrambling into rooms probably to destroy files.

"EDI!" She called over the comms.

" _I gained control of their systems and started a data mine the moment you entered the facility, Shepard."_ The AI said in her ear, " _The files are heavily encrypted and it will take time to decode them, but I believe have all the information pertaining to Project: Persephone. I have also taken the liberty of locking all of the scientists in their labs."_

"You're the best, EDI." She said amidst bursts from her rifle.

" _Keep Shepard away from Persephone!"_ A trooper yelled.

"Looks like we found the right place!" James noted, almost with glee and they moved their way through the facility, heading in the direction where the troopers seemed to be the thickest. The Cerberus soldiers fought hard to push them back, but they kept moving forward until the area was cleared.

" _Shepard,"_ EDI said in her ear, " _According to the few files I have managed to decrypt, Project: Persephone is being housed in a room in the northeast wing of the facility."_

"Any idea what it is, yet?"

"Negative, Shepard. These files seem to be from the Project's infancy a little over a year ago."

"When I was working with Cerberus."

"That is correct. It seems the Project was started towards the end of Project: Lazarus, before you regained consciousness."

"You guys got all that?" Shepard asked.

"Got it, northeast wing of the facility." James said.

"Maybe it was their backup plan in case bringing you back didn't work?" Garrus suggested.

"It was started towards the end, meaning they had already brought me back, I just needed to finish healing. Let's just get to Project center and we'll figure out what it is." Shepard and they made their way towards it, battling through waves of troopers as they pushed forward.

There was a door different from the others and they cleared the area around it, James setting proximity mines at the ends of the hallways' entrances so they would know if they were about to get interrupted.

"Garrus, get the door, we'll keep watch." Shepard said.

"On it, Shepard." He said as he approached it, bringing up his omnitool. It took a bit longer, but the more sophisticated lock flashed green, the door opening. He was suddenly blasted back, hitting the wall hard and sliding to the floor as the door closed and locked again.

"Garrus!" Shepard exclaimed, going to him and crouching down.

"I'm fine." He wheezed, "Human. Female. Dark hair, strong biotics. Didn't get a very good look at her before she Threw me out of the room, but she wasn't dressed like a scientist."

"EDI are we in the right place?" Shepard asked, as she held Garrus' shoulder.

"Yes, Shepard. Project: Persephone is behind that door."

"Son of a-" She moved away from him, standing and approaching the door. "Persephone?" There was a pregnant pause.

"How did you know my name?" The voice was soft, hesitant, but demanding.

"Holy shit." James said, "It's not a piece of tech or a weapon, it's a _person._ "

"Persephone, can you open the door? We're not going to hurt you." Shepard said.

"All I've heard for the past hour is the sounds of people dying, and you say you're not going to hurt me?" There was a small, humorless laugh, "The words "bite me" come to mind."

"My name is Commander Shepard, do you know who I am?"

"Yeah, they talked about you. Trust me, you _really_ don't want to know what they said." Persephone said, "They also said you'd kill me if you ever found me."

"I'm not here to kill you, Persephone, I came here to find you."

"Why?"

"To get you out of here." Shepard said, her voice turning gentle, "Can't imagine this is a great place to be."

"It's all I've ever known." Her voice held a sad note of defeat and resignation. "You're really here to take me out?"

"I am." Shepard said and there was a long pause.

"Okay, I'm opening the door, but holster your weapon and keep your hands where I can see them." Putting her rifle away, she raised her hands in a disarming sort of way, the door opening. The room was a plain sterile white with absolutely no personal touches. Simple hospital bed, foot locker and wardrobe. She ended her brief inspection at the woman standing there in white patient scrubs, her feet bare on the metal floor.

Dark, ashen brown hair fell down her back in loose ringlets, swept over to one side showing that a large section of it had been shaved away, and old surgery scar and marks of an implant visible through the dark stubble on her scalp. Large, warm amber colored eyes regarded her carefully, and there was something about her eyes that was so familiar, though Shepard couldn't place it. Shepard took a step forward but instantly stopped as she took a step back, biotics pressing against hers.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Persephone." Shepard said gently.

"You mentioned that." Persephone said, still looking at her as if she expected her to attack. She took another couple of steps away, biotics making her eyes swirl as James came into the room suddenly.

"It's okay!" Shepard said, "Persephone, this is Lieutenant James Vega, he's with me. He's not going to hurt you either."

"And the Turian?"

"That's also a friend of mine. I'm sorry he scared you."

"He didn't scare me." Persephone said defensively, "He just...I wasn't expecting a Turian to walk in with a gun drawn, is all. There's no one but other humans here."

"Is him being a Turian going to be a problem?" Shepard asked carefully and received a look.

"They tried to teach me to hate aliens, said they were all monsters and animals. I asked them why I should hate them and they didn't give me a good enough answer so I knew it was all ignorant bullshit." She said.

"She kind of reminds me of you, Lola." James said with a sideways grin. "Troopers are regrouping, if we're leaving and taking her with us, we have to do it soon."

"Are you coming with us, Persephone?" Shepard asked and she watched her think about it, looking around the room.

"Let's get out of here."


	2. Chapter 2

Shepard relaxed in her bed in the Loft, muscles sore from the final push to the rendezvous point. The troopers had actually pushed at them harder when they saw that Persephone was with them, instead of pulling their shots for fear of catching her in a crossfire. For having no armor and no weapons, the young woman had actually proven an asset, throwing up a barrier to block enemy fire and Throwing troopers out of the way when their path was blocked.

Steve had been rightfully surprised when they boarded the shuttle that _she_ was Project: Persephone, having assumed along with the rest of them that it was an inanimate object, not a person. She had been quiet on the trip back to the Normandy, curling up in one of the seats and hugging her knees to her chest.

Chakwas had given her a clean bill of health and estimated her age at around twenty, twenty-one, seeing as she didn't remember having ever celebrated a birthday. Cerberus, it seemed, had made a habit of wiping her memory on a regular basis, though how many times they had was unknown. One of the first things Shepard had Karin do after giving Persephone a physical was sweep for a control chip, not wanting to get blindsided by a sleeper agent. She found none, but she did find several cybernetic implants, nothing too extreme like Shepard had, hers would increase her reflexes, cognitive abilities, and sensory perceptions. She also found, unsurprisingly, a biotic implant, again nothing extreme, only slightly better than the one they had outfitted Shepard with during Project: Lazarus.

Persephone was currently sleeping soundly in the medbay until they figured out where they wanted to put her. EDI was still decrypting the files she had mined from the facility, but it seemed they only had a partial set, ones from the Project's beginning, the rest either destroyed or in an off site location for safety.

Bringing up her omnitool, she punched in a number and the screen came up, a spinning circle on the display until it was answered, Kaidan's face coming in view, the angle telling her that he was laying down. The bruises had started to fade to a sickly green and he wasn't nearly as pale as he had been the first time she saw him after he woke up.

"Hey, Maddy." He said, a smile pulling at his lips as he saw her.

"Hey, Kaidan." She said, returning the smile.

"How was your mission? Did you find what you were looking for?" He asked as he shifted, moving to lay on his side.

"Oh yeah, we found it alright." Shepard said, "Let me tell you about it."

Persephone wasn't in the medbay when Shepard emerged early next morning, nor was she in the mess hall or any of the crew areas. She hadn't been there when Karin arrived in the morning, the bed she had been using neatly made, no sign that she had been there at all.

Garrus didn't remember seeing her recently, neither did Liara or anyone else she asked. She couldn't have left the ship, they were in cloaked orbit around a planet.

"EDI, where's Persephone?"

"Persephone is in the area below Engineering, the space Jack used to occupy."

"Thank you, EDI." Shepard said and took the elevator down, heading down the stairs to the gloom beneath the drive core. Persephone didn't look up when she approached, sitting with her legs folded on a crate, looking down at something cupped in her hand. "What're you doing down here?"

"I didn't touch anything and I didn't go into Engineering." She said immediately, "It's quiet down here, and this little guy has been keeping me company." She scooped into her hand and brought it up, the small, pudgy ball of brown fur clinging to her fingers as she held him gently.

"Pressly!" Shepard exclaimed happily, going over to her, the hamster squeaking at her in acknowledgement. "I was wondering where he ended up."

"He's yours?" Persephone asked, "I found him down here, he crawled into my lap to say hello while I was sitting here. Do you want him back?"

"No, you keep him." Shepard said after a pause, "He seems to like you. I have his habitat in my quarters."

"I'll bring it down here later." She said, resuming her petting of the hamster cradled in her hand.

"You don't have to stay down here, you know. The Crew Deck-"

"They don't want me there. The rest of the crew." Persephone said, "Biotics may not be telepathic, but I know what they're thinking and they don't want me there. They look at me with suspicion and carefully guarded hostility. It's better down here; quiet and I'm out of the way and out of sight."

"I'll talk-"

"Don't, it's fine." She said quickly and they fell into a silence.

"Where'd you get the clothes?" Shepard asked, having noticed when she got down there that Persephone was no longer wearing the white patient scrubs, having changed into a C-Sec hoodie and sweatpants, thin flats on her feet.

"Garrus and the Asari next to the mess, Liara?" She said, "The sweater fits a bit strange seeing as it's for Turian physiology, but it's comfortable, and it was nice of them to share. Oddly enough, the aliens were more welcoming than the humans. The AI, EDI? She said that if I needed anything, I only had to ask."

" _Given her ordeal, I thought it would be wise to try to make her feel as comfortable as possible."_

"Thanks, EDI." Persephone said with a ghost of a smile, "I appreciate it, really."

"Speaking of," Shepard said with a sigh, "Do you have any memories of what they did to you in that facility? What tests they ran?" The other woman went very quiet, staring down at Pressly as her fingertips moved over the sleeping hamsters fur.

"Vague snippets." She said finally, "Waking up, being called Persephone, having blood drawn. Some combat training, but I can't remember what exactly. And pain, I remember lots of pain. I remember a couple of the scientists saying that the "Illusive Man" was demanding an update. Who is that?" She looked up at her at that.

"He's the head of Cerberus."

"Like, the whole organization?" She asked and Shepard nodded. "Guess he was invested. He's probably going to pissed that I'm with you now."

"That's just an added bonus, annoying him was always so much fun." Shepard said and she gave a brief sound of amusement, her lips pulling into a wide smile that was almost familiar, though like her eyes, Shepard couldn't place from where.

"What're you going to do with me?" Persephone asked, once again serious, looking down in her hand and Shepard gave another sigh.

"I don't know, kiddo." Shepard said, "My boss, Admiral Hackett, he wants an update on what the Project was."

"Tell him the truth." Persephone said with a shrug. "Tell him it's me."

"I don't know what he'll do." She _did_ know what he would do. He would insist that Persephone be taken off the Normandy to some Alliance lab to be tested on, poked and prodded to see what Cerberus had done to her, how they had changed her, see if they could use that against them. They did the same thing to her while she was incarcerated on Earth.

"Can't be any worse than what's already been done." She said.

"I thought you didn't remember."

"I don't." She said with another shrug, "But it's feelings, mostly. I think they wiped my memory for a reason. Shit, Shepard, if the Alliance wanted to not risk it and put a bullet in my head, I wouldn't blame them."

"That is _not_ going to happen. Do you understand me?"

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Persephone said, "I mean, hell. For all you know, I'm a _literal_ time bomb, like…" She thought about it for a moment, "If a code isn't transmitted to my implant every X number of hours, it detonates and blows out a chunk of my brain stem." They shared a look.

"Let's get you to Dr. Chakwas."

"Yes, please." She said, climbing down off the crate and putting Pressly in the hoodie pocket as they made their way back up to the medbay.

A few extensive scans later and they both breathed a sigh of relief as Karin informed them that there was no such device or programming in _any_ of her cybernetics or her biotic implant. While they hadn't put it past Cerberus to install that kind of failsafe, it seemed the scientists and/or the Illusive Man hadn't anticipated losing control of their Project.

"He was an arrogant bastard when I worked with him, too." Shepard remarked and Persephone snorted in amusement. "Karin, what's with the look?" The Doctor was looking back and forth between them two of them, her brow furrowed.

"Must be a trick of the light." She said dismissively, "Now, if that will be all, Commander…"

"Yeah, we'll get out of your way." She said and tapped Persephone's knee, "Come on, let's go get Pressly's tank. Are you _sure_ you want to stay down in that hole?"

"I like it down there." Persephone said with a small shrug as they left the medbay. They both almost walked into James as they rounded the corner to the elevator.

"Jesus, walking wall." Shepard said, having clearly been startled by his sudden appearance.

"Sorry, Lola." James said, looking for all the galaxy that he _wasn't_ sorry, "Traynor is patching the comms and she asked me to tell you Urdnot Wrex and the Salarian Dalatrass are ready to meet with you and the Primarch." He then looked over, noticing the other woman was there, a slow smile pulling at his lips. "Hey, Persephone."

"Hello." Persephone said, a slight pink tinge coming over her cheeks.

"Will that be all, Lieutenant?" Shepard asked and his attention snapped back to her at the authoritative tone.

"Yes, Commander." He said and moved past them as they went to the elevator.

"Really, Shepard?" Persephone asked.

"Let me tell you something about James Vega." She said as they took the elevator up to the Loft, "He's a shameless flirt that hits on pretty much anything that walks on two legs."

"I wasn't planning on reading anything into it, don't worry." She said, sounding very amused with the whole thing. "Besides, all he said was "hi" so I think _you're_ reading a bit too much into it."

"He was my...guard while I was under basically house arrest on Earth, I got to know him really well in that time."

"Oh, really?"

"Not like that. I'm already with someone. Sort of. It's complicated, we're working on it."

"What's his name?" Persephone asked, "Or her name?"

"Kaidan, his name is Kaidan." Shepard said and they stepped off the elevator, going into the Loft. Persephone gently removed a still sleeping Pressly out of her pocket, gently putting him in the habitat on a shelf.

"Alenko?" She asked, turning to look at her with a soft scowl.

"Yeah, actually. Do you...know him?"

"Not personally, obviously, but I have vague memories of the name being said once or twice. Couldn't tell you the context, though."

"Not sure how I feel about that, to be honest." Shepard said as she went over to her wardrobe, the rack extending out from the wall and she took down the garment bag with her dress blues.

"I'll leave you to get ready for your meeting." Persephone said and turned to leave.

"You forgot Pressly." Shepard said and she stopped.

"You should keep him, he'd just be bored down in the hold with me." With that, she left, the door to the Loft closing behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Cure the Genophage. That was Wrex's condition to helping the Turians with Palaven. End the millennia long "sterility plague" that was slowly driving the Krogan extinct. The Dalatrass was...adamant that such a thing never happen, her inability to see the big picture infuriating. They _needed_ the Krogan to help fight the Reapers, and if this is what it took, she needed to put her pride aside and cooperate. For some reason, Shepard doubted she would.

Try as she did otherwise, her thoughts kept going down to the woman in the bottom of Engineering. There was something slightly...off about Persephone. A nagging feeling in the back of her mind. It might be just because of what she knew about her upbringing, and that Persephone knew close to nothing. She asked Adams to let her know if Persephone wandered into Engineering, and while the door automatically opened as she went past on her way down the stairs, she didn't actually go into the area, staying away from the drive core and the more sensitive systems of the ship.

But she had more pressing things to think about; Krogan females immune to the Genophage were being held in an STG Research Lab on Sur'Kesh and needed to be rescued so a cure could be synthesized. The Dalatrass tried to deny it, but for a politician, she wasn't a very good liar and folded when video footage of the females was displayed. Wrex had an inside man in the STG, something that might cause more stress between the Salarians and the Krogan.

Shepard gave a sigh as she stepped up to the Galaxy Map, popping her neck as she brought it up, setting their course for the Salarian homeworld. It was going to be a long war.

Persephone didn't fail to notice how everything went still the moment she entered the mess hall. The corner of her lips perked almost imperceptibly as she fought the urge to whip around and yell "Boo!", but that would probably just get her shot. Going over to one of the cabinets, she unlocked it and pulled it open, looking through the different boxes before she found the energy fruit bars she had taken a liking to. Specifically designed for a biotics' metabolism, high in natural sugars and protein. Strawberry Pineapple was her favorite.

She could feel her biotics thrumming under her skin and she rotated her shoulders, popping her neck as she let herself leak just a little bit, just to take the edge off the current running through her. Pale wisps of dark energy bled from her clothes and she felt some of the tension leave her muscles before she reined it back in again. At the facility, she used her biotics almost daily, and extensively. She couldn't remember what for or in what way, but she had vague memories of collapsing into bed exhausted, head pounding and implant searing.

Unable to sleep, she had wandered out of the medbay last night, giving herself a tour of the ship and found her way into the Starboard Observation Deck, the sight of the stars just outside breathtaking and relaxing. Recalling a meditation technique taught to her by a scientist as a way to expend excess biotic energy nondestructively, she went there, finding it thankfully empty and went about collecting small items no larger than her fist, taking them from shelves and cupboards, clearing an area on the floor and sitting with her legs folded, setting the objects around her.

Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly as she closed her eyes, her biotics never far out of reach as she concentrated on her breathing, reaching out with her abilities to the room around her almost like a strange sonar. She could feel the hum of the engine under her and could "see" the objects scattered on the floor. Expanding out, she "touched" each one, lifting them into the air one by one until they hovered there at random levels. Then, with another deep breath, they started to spin around her slowly in eclipsing circles, dipping and weaving through the air around their center, orbiting her like planets would orbit their sun. It took extreme concentration and clarity to be able to do this and maintain it, also extreme endurance to maintain it for any length of time.

A feeling of weightlessness gathered in her chest, a strange, almost empty sensation as all the nervous tension and doubts from the last twenty-four hours started to melt away. It didn't matter what the crew of the Normandy thought about her, or what Shepard and the Alliance Brass planned to do with her. Whatever happens, happens.

"Holy-Jedi." Her concentration broke and the objects fell to the floor, a few breaking on impact. Biotics still swirled in her eyes as she opened them, the aura retreating back into her skin and she blinked a few times, focusing on Lieutenant Cortez standing there, looking at her with wide eyes.

"What's a Jedi?" Persephone asked, regarding him peacefully. She hasn't said more than two words to the man since setting foot on the Normandy, having thanked him upon leaving the shuttle before Shepard ferreted her off the medbay to get checked over.

"You've never heard of-forgot, raised in a lab." He said, "One moment." He brought up his omnitool. "Vega, you up for a movie marathon?"

" _Always, Esteban."_ Vega said, " _What're we watching?"_

"The Star Wars series with Persephone, she's never seen it or heard of it. Despite the fact that apparently she's a Master Jedi. I swear I just watched her use the Force."

"That was biotics." Persephone said, scowling slightly.

"The Force." He insisted. "What do you think, James?"

"Hell yeah, _I'll make the popcorn and bring the beer!"_ His excitement made her give a small smile and she took the hand Cortez offered, the pilot helping her to her feet. He was nice enough to help her clean up the small mess created by her broken concentration, and she was unable to dissuade him of the notion that she was a "Jedi". To be completely honest, the whole thing amused her slightly, he was the first human crew member outside James and Shepard that didn't regard her with suspicion, or walk on eggshells around her as if she was going to snap.

Once the area was cleaned up, they made their way down the hall to the Crew Lounge, finding James already there with a large bowl of what she was guessing was popcorn and a small container of six bottles. He was already setting up the screen, the large observation window going opaque.

"A New Hope, or The Phantom Menace?" He asked, turning around as they came in. Cortez must have given him a look because he shrugged, "A New Hope it is."

"How about this: Episodes Four and Five first," Cortez started, "Then One, Two, and Three, then the rest of them starting with Episode 6."

"Nice, add a bit of suspense after Han gets-nevermind." James said, catching the frantic motions Steve gave him. "Sound good to you, Persephone?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, so okay." She said and he snorted, grabbing a bottle and popping the cap off.

"Have you…" he paused, "Ever had beer?" She gave him a look, "That's a no. Here." He handed the bottle out to her.

"Vega!" Steve barked.

"What?! She's an adult! Chakwas estimated her age at about twenty! Besides, would you rather she try it here, or if she goes to Purgatory?" They exchanged a look, but Persephone gave an exasperated sound, grabbing the bottle from his still outstretched hand.

"I'm not a child." She muttered and took a sip, but pulled it away from her lips as the bitter taste filled her mouth. Swallowing the sip regardless, she pulled a face, making a disgusted sound as she handed it back to him. "This is all yours, no thank you." James took the bottle from her, a wide smile pulling at his lips.

"I'll go get you a Tupari." Steve said, rolling his eyes and chuckling.

"You don't have to, I can-"

"No, no. Sit while Vega starts the movie. Preference to flavor?" Steve asked and there was a pause.

"Lime, if you have it. Anything, if you don't." Persephone said a bit sheepishly.

"You and Shepard." He muttered as he walked out of the Lounge. Moving around the couch, she sat in the middle with her legs folded, hands holding her ankles and James sat next to her, setting the large bowl in her lap.

"You're keeper of the popcorn." He said, "Try not to eat it all, I know how you biotics are." He gave her a wink and she looked away with a smile, a small blush coming to her cheeks. Taking a few small pieces, she looked at them before popping them into her mouth. The texture wasn't what she was expecting, but it was good, buttery and salty and was that...garlic? "Good?"

"Good." She confirmed, eating a few more pieces. Persephone thanked Cortez when he came back, handing her a bottle of bright green drink as he sat down on the other side of her. The lights in the Lounge dimmed as James put in a command into his omnitool and the screen activated.

 _A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away..._


	4. Chapter 4

She woke feeling safe and warm, a strong, steady heartbeat in her ear and low voices talking above her. A heavy arm was wrapped around her waist, keeping her close and warm breath ruffled her hair.

" _I don't think she sleeps very well."_ One voice said.

" _It's only been a couple days, she's probably still adjusting."_ Another, closer voice noted, " _Hell of a culture shock going from a lab to a frigate."_

 _"She made herself a little nest in the cargo area under Engineering."_

 _"Human's don't make nests, Scars."_

 _"You know what I mean."_

" _Yeah._ "

" _Good thing_ I _found you two, and not Shepard."_

" _Yeah, let's_ not _mention this to the Commander."_

"Mention what?" She asked blearily, still slowly coming awake, more comfortable than she could ever remember being.

"Good morning." James said, looking down at her, a small smile pulling at his lips and it took her a moment before everything snapped into place. Persephone flung herself off him and onto the floor with a small squeak, cheeks flaming bright red at having fallen asleep on his chest. The last thing she remembered from the night before was Anakin complaining at length about sand. How she and James had wound up stretched out on the couch together covered in a thin blanket was beyond her.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed, covering her face in mortification.

"Hey, whoa, don't be!" James said, "Scars, I got this. Go tell the Commander I'll be ready in forty-five." His hands laid on her shoulders, but she didn't look at him. "Persephone, it's okay, really. You were tired and I really didn't mind. Besides, I'm not going to complain about having a cute girl fall asleep on me."

"I didn't make you uncomfortable?" Persephone asked.

"Not at all!" James said, "I woke up before you did and you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you up. Listen, I have to get ready for a mission, are you going to be okay?" She stared at him for a moment, seeing the almost pitying look he was giving her and she withdrew her emotions, stamping them down, an impassive mask slipping over her features.

"I'll be fine, James. Go get ready." She said evenly and surprise flickered across his face at the sudden shift.

"We'll...have to find time to watch some more of the movies." He said and they got to their feet.

"I'd like that." Persephone said, her lips pulling into a small, carefully crafted smile. It seemed to relieve him a little, his shoulders dropping slightly as he relaxed.

"Okay, well, you should go get some rest, it's still early. I'll um...come find you after we get back." James said.

"If you want." She said and he gave her a small smirk.

"Well, yeah." He said, "I need to go get ready."

"Go on, don't let me keep you." She said, moving her head at the door and he gave her another smile, which she returned, before leaving. It dropped the moment he was gone and she sat down on the couch, folding up the blanket and setting it over the back. She had to watch herself around the Lieutenant. He was charming and attractive, flirting with her constantly. If what Shepard said was true, and she had no reason to believe otherwise, that was just a quirk of his personality and he wasn't serious about it.

The fact that it seemed as if he pitied her only confirmed it, and that made her wonder if Cortez regarded her the same way, and if that was the only reason why he had sought her out. Honestly, she'd prefer disdain and suspicion over pity.

The Flight Lieutenant must have cleaned up after she had James has fallen asleep; there were no bottles anywhere and the empty bowl was gone. Nothing for her to do there, she left the Lounge, heading back down to her "nest" under Engineering. Out of sight, out of mind.

There was a basket waiting for her on a crate and she blinked at it a couple times before she went to it, opening it and finding several sets of clothes along with underthings and an array of toiletries. After giving the card a quick read, she saw it was from Dr. T'Soni and Specialist Traynor, the latter she met only briefly when they crossed paths in the hall. The woman seemed pleasant, a little understandably nervous around her. She'd have to thank the two women later, even as a thought to return the gifts crossed her mind. That would be rude, they were only trying to help, and she needed the items.

Gathering up a few choices, she made her way back up to the crew deck, finding the women's showers thankfully empty. The crew wasn't that large and everyone seemed to be up and about their day so she suspected she wouldn't be interrupted. Still, she brought up her omnitool and locked the door, just in case.

She forced her mind to stay blank as she showered, washing her long fall of thick hair and scrubbing herself clean, going through the motions quickly. As she dried, her hands traced over the various scars marring her skin, the memories of how she had gotten them missing along with so many others. Some of them were clearly from procedures, but others seemed as if they were from injuries. With a sigh, she got dressed and gathered her toiletries, heading back down below Engineering.

It was several hours before she heard and felt the cargo bay door open and the shuttle land. She was laying there in the dark, a datapad that had been in the care package turned off and on a crate within reach. Persephone heard the door to Engineering open, a gait that she had come to attribute to James making it's way down the stairs, but she rolled over, her back to the stairway and heard him stop. He gave a small sigh and she closed her eyes as she heard him come closer, a blanket pulled over her a moment later. He smelled faintly of smoke and carbon and she wondered what had happened on the mission.

A single finger was gentle as it pulled her hair away from her face and she forced herself to keep up the ruse that she was sleeping. After a moment, she listened as he left and rolled over onto her back, eyes burning illogically with tears.

Emotions are a liability and relationships are dangerous.

Persephone didn't know where she had heard that, but it seemed particularly appropriate. Perhaps it would be better if she wasn't there, if or when they docked on the Citadel that she simply vanished on to the station. It would be easy to get lost in the throngs of people. Would they look for her? Most likely, but not for any sentimental reasons. The last thing they needed was a Cerberus science project on the loose.

Not that it mattered. She had a feeling she would soon be either dead as a precaution, or in an Alliance lab for testing.


	5. Chapter 5

Persephone was reading when Shepard called her to the armory and she paused for a moment before turning off the datapad and hopping down from the crate she was sitting on, heading up the stairs and taking the elevator down one floor to the shuttle bay. It had been a couple days since she had woken up in James's arms in the Crew Lounge, and while she wasn't avoiding him, she wasn't actively seeking him out, either. She had formed for herself a nice little routine, most her days and nights were spent down in her little area, only venturing out when needed.

Stepping into the shuttle bay, she stopped as she looked at Shepard standing there in front of a few crates pushed together to form a platform, a variety of weapons from heavy pistols to shotguns laid out in front of her.

"Pick your poison." She said, gesturing to the weapons and Persephone gave her a wary look.

"You really want to trust me with a gun, Shepard?" She asked.

"Absolutely. Now, pick your weapon." Shepard said and Persephone approached the makeshift table, looking over the guns. Her memory poked at her that these were all wrong, it's not what she should be using, but she pushed the feeling away. Persephone bypassed the shotguns completely, as well as the submachine guns, and picked up a sniper rifle she instantly recognized as a M-13 Raptor, but somehow knew that she had never used it. It was familiar, though. She checked the sights, noting that it it carried no thermal clip, and set it back down again. The Mattock was next, and like the Raptor it was familiar, but she had never used it. It was also sans thermal clip, all the guns probably were for safety reasons.

Picking up a heavy pistol, she tooked it over and set it aside.

"Okay." She said and Shepard perked an eyebrow at her.

"That's it?" She asked, "Just a pistol? No backup weapon?"

"My biotics are my backup." Persephone said and Shepard have a shrug.

"Fair enough, mine too." She said, "Help me put these back and we'll go onto Phase Two."

"Do I want to know how many "phases" there are?" She asked and the other woman thought for a moment.

"Three, no, four. Maybe five." She said and they put the guns back in the weapon lockers except for the pistol she had chosen, securing them again. They went back over to the table and Shepard brought up her omnitool. "You know what dressing a weapon is?"

"Taking it apart and putting it back together again?" She asked and she nodded.

"You have thirty seconds to dress that Carnifax. Starting...now." She started the countdown her omnitool and Persephone got to work, her mind going blissfully blank until she was done, setting it back on the table. "And you did it in twenty, not bad. N7 quals required fifteen."

"What's Phase Three?" Persephone asked.

"Firing range to test accuracy. There's one on the Citadel that C-Sec has that I got us permission to use, I can't get you into the Spectre range." Shepard said, "We'll be there in about a day."

"What's this all about Shepard?" She asked and the Commander gave her a long look.

"I spoke to Admiral Hackett." She said, "He's a little wary, but ordered that I test your combat skills."

"Are you planning on taking me on missions?" She asked and she gave another shrug.

"Possibly, let's see how you do in the other Phases of your evaluation."

"Phase Four?"

"Hand to hand."

"Phase Five?"

"Phase Five," She gave a small smile, "Phase Five I was thinking about letting you loose in the Armax Arena. There's no substitute for real combat, of course, but they come pretty close. Sound good?"

"I guess so." She said with a shrug and movement caught her eye. Looking around Shepard, she saw James by his station, lying on his work out bench doing sit ups. His shirt was thrown onto a crate and a layer of sweat made his skin shine in the lighting. There was a moment where she just watched the way his abdominal muscles moved under his skin before she caught Shepard giving her a look, a sly smile on her face. "What?"

"Yeah, it's impressive." She admitted, "It's nice to look at as long as you don't touch."

"Please," Persephone said with a rude sound, "I'm pretty sure I've never...touched before and I wouldn't know what to do."

"You really don't remember anything of your life before the facility?"

"I don't remember anything of my life _in_ the facility."

"Fair enough." Shepard said, "I've been having Liara and EDI try to find something about you, but with the war and so many lost or missing…" She let it trail off.

"It's a long shot, I know, but thank you." Persephone said, "The Project started around the time Cerberus revived you, right? That's what EDI told me."

"Yeah, and at that time the Collectors were abducting entire human colonies." Shepard said, "If you were from one of those colonies and then they got hit, there wouldn't _be_ anyone left that would be looking for you."

"So you're stuck with me." Persephone said and Shepard snorted in amusement.

"Looks like."

"Thank you, Shepard." Persephone said, "For everything."

"Don't worry about it, kiddo." She said, reaching out to touch her shoulder, "And we'll find something eventually. Even no intel is good intel."

"Maybe something will come up when we get to the Citadel." Persephone said, "It's an extreme longshot, but maybe someone recognizes me."

"Maybe. I have a few things I need to do down in the refugee area, come with me and we'll see what happens." Shepard said, "There's things I have to do to prepare, see you later?"

"You know where I'll be." Persephone said and she touched her shoulder one last time before leaving the shuttle bay. Her attention was drawn back over to James, seeing that he switched to pull-ups and she watched his back muscles flex and cord. He paused, looking over his shoulder and she looked away quickly, going to the maintenance table with the Carnifax and taking it apart again, going over all of the individual parts and pieces.

"You've been avoiding me." She turned, James now standing behind her still without his shirt, arms crossed over his chest.

"Have not." She objected, copying his stance and he snorted, advancing on her until she backed into the table, his hands going to grip the edges. Warmth emanated from his skin and she curled her fingers around the edge of the table to keep from touching him.

"You're blushing just a little bit."

"Am not." She said, fully aware of the heat in her face. He moved closer, leaning down, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. Persephone suddenly ducked down, darting out from under his arm and going to the elevator, fleeing the shuttle bay quickly. James gave a sigh when she was gone, hanging his head.


	6. Chapter 6

She felt the moment they docked, the ship shuddering and the persistent hum of the drive core ceasing as it powered down. Setting the datapad aside, Persephone hopped down off the crate, slipping the thin shoes on over her bare feet and heading up to the elevator. Shepard was waiting for her when she got off at the CIC, other crew members ready to take their short leave as the Normandy was restocked and resupplied.

"Ready, kiddo?" Shepard asked and she nodded. "Let's see what we can find out."

They left the ship together, Persephone hesitating as they reached the press of people outside the airlock. It was only Shepard's hand on her shoulder that kept her moving forward. They were just about to call a shuttle when her omni-tool beeped and she brought it up, looking over a message.

"Change of plans, apparently." Shepard said, "Karin has set up for you more in depth scans of your implants and a more intensive physical including blood work. They're waiting for you in Huerta Memorial. She's put me down as family and herself as your primary, so they'll share the results with us."

"Fantastic, I'm going to get poked again." She said, a sinking feeling starting in the pit of her stomach.

"I'll stay with you throughout the entire process, if you want, but there is someone in Huerta that I want to visit."

"I'll...I'll let you know." She said and Shepard called up a shuttle to the Presidium that would take them right to Huerta. She caught Shepard giving her looks from time to time out of the corner of her eye, but she kept her focus on the scenery flying by outside. When the shuttle landed, she waited until the Commander opened the door before getting out, heading into the hospital even though it was the last place she wanted to go.

Persephone stood off to the side as Shepard checked them in at the front desk and soon after, a nurse led them back to the exam rooms.

"Get undressed and change into that, Persephone, I'll be outside." The Asari nurse said delicately, gesturing to an exam gown and she left the room.

"I'll come back in when the nurse does." Shepard said, reaching out and squeezing her hand before leaving as well.

Persephone stood there for a while, staring at the examination gown as if it were going to attack her before turning her mind off, getting undressed and putting on the gown.

"Okay." She called out, sitting on the exam table and the nurse and Shepard came back in.

"Persephone, we're going to start off scanning your implants. If you could lay down, please?" The nurse said and she did, laying down on the exam table and watching as a piece of machinery with a curved arm on a track was wheeled over, pressed against the side of the table.

"Kiddo, do you want me to stay?" Shepard asked.

"If you don't want to, you don't have to." Persephone said and there was a pause.

"I'll stay." Shepard said and went around to the other side of the table, pulling a stool over and sitting down as the machine started up. During the exam, Persephone gripped the edge of the table tightly, her knuckles white and Shepard took her hand in both of her own, letting her cling to her to ground herself. Fear came off her in waves, her biotics flickering over her skin sporadically. Her fingers clenched as the nurse drew blood and a single tear gathered in the corner of her eye, falling to soak into her hair. "Okay, that's enough, she's terrified."

"I'm f-fine." Persephone stammered.

"Like hell you are. I'm stopping this."

"I can handle it."

"Persephone, look at me." Her eyes opened and fixed on her, "You don't have to do this. You have the choice now to say no that you never did before. Some come on, get dressed. There's someone I want you to meet and then we'll go, okay?" The other woman nodded, sitting up and the nurse left the room. She stood up, helping Persephone off the exam table and her heart broke a little more when she took off the exam gown, seeing the scars that decorated her body. They reminded her far too much of Jack's. When she was dressed, Shepard laced an arm around her shoulders and led her from the room. Instead of heading for the entrance, they walked deeper into the hospital to the recovery ward, stopping in front of a door.

"Who's here?" Persephone asked, still shaking slightly.

"Kaidan was injured by a Cerberus synthetic a while back and he's been recovering. I've told him about you and he wants to meet you." Shepard said and waved her hand over the sensor, the door opening.

He stood in front of the large window, looking out on the Presidium, his Alliance BDUs fitting him very well. Turning as the door opened, he gave them a warm smile.

"Maddy, hey." He said, "I was wondering if you were going to show up." His attention turned to Persephone, "And you must be Persephone, I'm Kaidan Alenko, it's nice to...meet...you...my god." His smile faded as he looked back and forth between her and Shepard and they exchanged look, giving an identical:

"What?"

"Madeline." He said as he approached them, "Maddy, she has your nose."

"What are you talking about Kaidan?" Shepard asked.

"And the shape of her ears, my god you two look like you could be sisters." Kaidan said and they exchanged another look, not seeing what he was seeing.

"I'm an only child, Kaidan, you know that." Shepard said, "Hold on a second." She moved away from them, touching a finger to her comms. "Dr. Chakwas, do you still have Persephone's DNA on file? For giggles can you run it against mine? I'll wait."

"Shepard?" Persephone asked.

"Hold on a second, kiddo." Shepard said and her face went stony. "Are you sure? Absolutely sure." She looked at them then, "Yeah, I have a pretty good idea. Thanks, Karin."

"Shepard, what's going on?" Persephone asked, that sinking feeling from before starting to form again.

"She's your clone, isn't she." Kaidan said but she shook her head.

"Not my clone." Shepard said faintly, "I must have been pregnant when the Normandy was destroyed."

"Madeline?" Kaidan asked and Shepard went to Persephone, tucking her hair behind her ear with shaking hands and she continued to look at her, her confusion growing.

"Kaidan," his name came in a sob, "She has your eyes. The shape and color, they're identical."

"Shepard, are you my mother?" Persephone asked and she nodded. "But that's not possible, I'm too old."

"No, you're not. You're only a little over a year old." Shepard said, "When I was working with Cerberus, I came across a Krogan Warlord who was able to tank bred Krogan fully grown. Project: Persephone started before that, they must have found you when they were bringing me back and saved you, put you in a kind of stasis."

"And we were together before the Normandy was destroyed." Kaidan said, "She has my eyes."

"So you're my mother, and Kaidan is my father." Persephone said, trying to put all the pieces together in her head. Looking over, she looked into hopeful eyes identical to her own and she could feel herself withdrawing, pulling away what was happening. "I can't...I can't be here right now." Pushing past her, she ignored the voices calling her name and fled from the hospital.


	7. Chapter 7

They found her long after the Citadel had started it's night cycle, all the shops closed down and the Keepers out. Sitting down on either side of her on her seat on a ledge overlooking the Presidium, they didn't say anything, the three of them sitting there in the silence.

"Sorry I ran." Persephone said, looking down at her hands.

"Don't be, kiddo." Shepard said, "You got hit with something big after a not so great day, we understand."

"Persephone," Kaidan started, "We don't expect you to start calling us "mom" and "dad". We know _that_ will take time, if it ever happens."

"Yeah." She said, still looking at her hands. "How are you two dealing with it? You just found out you're parents to a Cerberus science project."

"Honestly, I'm angry as hell." Kaidan admitted and she looked at him, "Madeline worked for them for almost a year and they never once even _hinted_ that they recovered a child? And that that child was alive and well? If we had known about you…" He stopped, taking a breath and letting it out slowly, "If we had known about you, there wouldn't have been a force in this galaxy that would have kept us from you." Reaching over hesitantly, she took his hand and he held it tightly.

"Think of it this way," Persephone said, "I bet you anything I was a fussy baby." He gave a low chuckle at that, squeezing her hand.

"Yeah, they took care of the difficult parts for us." Shepard said, "If you were anything like how I was as a toddler, according to your grandmother, I gave whole new meaning to the phrase Terrible Two's."

"I have a grandmother?" Persephone asked and she nodded.

"And a grandfather. No aunts or uncles, but plenty of great aunts and uncles. The Shepard Clan is pretty big." Shepard said.

"The Alenko Family isn't small either." Kaidan said, "I have several aunts and uncles, lots of cousins. I'm also an only child, though." Persephone gave a small sound of amusement and he looked at her, a small smile pulling at his lips. "What?"

"Shepard and I were hoping that we'd find out something about me today, maybe track down my family, or someone who knows me." Persephone said and Shepard gave an identical sound.

"Mission accomplished." She said, "Technically, you're a Shepard."

"Technically I'm a Shepard-Alenko." Persephone said.

"Persephone Shepard-Alenko." Kaidan said, "I like the sound of that, we'll have to get it official, though I doubt there's a birth certificate. Maddy told me you're a biotic?"

"Yeah, nothing too extreme, though." Persephone said with a shrug. "Must have been exposed when the first Normandy's drive core went up."

"She Threw Garrus out of the room we found her in." Shepard said with a snort.

"Not hard!" She said defensively, "It was a mini Throw! Not to hurt him, just to...get him out of the room."

"Was he all right?" Kaidan asked, his expression a mix of worried and amused.

"Yeah, he was fine. His pride was more injured than he was." Shepard said and pat Persephone's knee. "Come on, kiddo, we have to get back to the Normandy."

"Okay." Persephone said and got to her feet. "Meet you there." Without another word, she stepped off the ledge, dropping out of sight.

"Persephone!" Shepard and Kaidan both exclaimed, looking down the dead drop.

"What?" She asked, coming back into view, looking up at them, biotics still flickering slightly over her clothes.

"Did...did you float down?" Kaidan asked she shrugged.

"You guys can't do that?" She asked.

"No!" They exclaimed at the same time and she snorted.

"Lightweights." There was a subsonic pulse and she came floating up, landing gracefully on the ledge again, her biotics flickering once before extinguishing.

"Now you're just showing off." Kaidan said and looked at Shepard, "Your daughter." Persephone gave a small giggle at that and Shepard pulled her to her side, giving Kaidan a wide cheeky grin.

"Are we leaving immediately, or…" Persephone let the question trail off.

"I still have a few things I need to do here and the Normandy is expecting deliveries tomorrow so we'll be docked for _at least_ another day." Shepard said and she nodded.

"That's great!" Kaidan said, "Let me take you two out to lunch tomorrow, there's this noodle place on Zakera ward that is absolutely incredible."

"Ooh, noodles." Shepard said happily, "How about it, kiddo?"

"I've never had noodles before." Persephone said, somewhat excited at trying something new.

"Shepard, you know what one I'm talking about?"

"I think I do." Shepard said, "We'll meet you there at how's fourteen-hundred? I'm taking her to the C-Sec shooting range for marksman testing in the morning."

"Sounds good to me, fourteen-hundred it is." Kaidan said with a smile.

"Meet you back at the ship? I want to talk to Kaidan for a bit." Shepard said and Persephone gave a shrug.

"Sure." She said, "Kaidan, it was um...nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too, Persephone." He said and paused, "How do you feel about hugs?"

"From what I've experienced of them, I like them." Persephone said and he pulled her into his arms for a warm hug which she returned, a small smile on her face. Shepard watched as they parted, her expression soft and Persephone gave them both a short wave as she left, vanishing towards the elevators.

"We have a daughter." Shepard said when she was gone.

"She seems amazing." Kaidan said, "They tortured her, didn't they. Cerberus, I mean."

"I think so, yeah." Shepard said, "She has these scars...it breaks my heart. I don't know why they did it, what they were trying to do. Seeing them...maybe it was better that they took her memories away."

"But we have a daughter." He turned her, lacing his arms around her waist and pulling her close, "We made a life, Madeline."

"Yes, we did." She said, her hands sliding over his chest to weave her fingers in his hair.

"And while yes, it does matter that we weren't at least _offered_ the opportunity to raise her ourselves," He said, "She's with us now and those bastards will never hurt her again."

"Always looking on the bright side, Kaidan."

"Well, of course." He said and leaned in, pressing his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. "I...love you, Madeline."

"I love you too, Kaidan."

"It felt good to finally say that." Kaidan said.

"Come back to the Normandy, Kaidan. I could sure use you." Shepard said and he sighed.

"I want to, I do, but there are some things that I feel like I need to do here." He said and she nodded.

"I understand." Shepard said and she moved to pull away, but his arms tightened around her waist, keeping her close. His kiss surprised her, the gentle gasp pulling him closer and she shivered in his arms as his lips parted hers, his tongue slipping into her mouth to swirl against her own. Need and want slammed into her hard and she found herself pressing against him, fingers skirting over the amp port at the back of his neck and making him groan into her lips.

"Madeline…" He whispered against her lips, "I have a small place nearby, but if you don't…"

"I don't know, Kaidan," Her tone was teasing, "You were pretty injured, are you sure you should be doing strenuous activity?"

"Maddy…" He growled, pulling her into another searing kiss.

Persephone laid down on the cot below Engineering, her mind sorting through the day's events. She had a family, a mother and father who appeared to care about her, or at least cared that she existed. Kaidan's anger at not knowing about her had seemed genuine and the way he had hugged her was so warm and caring, as if knowing that she existing and holding her in his arms was a defining moment for him.

She heard the door to Engineering slide open, James' galloping gait coming down the stairs and she sat up, pulling her legs under her.

"Hey." He said, giving her a small smile.

"Come to corner me again?" She asked, but her tone was light, teasing, the corner of her lips perking gently.

"Nah." He said, "You and Shepard were gone for a while."

"Yeah, we were." Persephone said, looking down at her hands.

"So what'd you guys find out?" He asked, knowing her and Shepard's little side mission on the Citadel.

"Quite a bit actually. I have parents." She said and a wide smile split his face.

"That's great!" He said, "Who are they? Did you meet them?"

"Oh, yeah, I met them." She said and laid out what had happened, leaving out the physical exam, starting with Shepard introducing her to Kaidan. He was quiet when she was done and she watched the wheels in his head turn as he processed what she had said.

"Well, damn." James said finally, "Shepard's your mom."

"Yes, she is. Apparently the reason why I can't remember my life before the facility, is because I didn't have one. I was...born fully grown a little over a year ago." Persephone said and he was quiet again, the air in the area becoming uncomfortable as the information settled between them and she could almost watch as he closed himself off.

"I mean, it's something, right?" He said finally and she nodded.

"James, um...don't tell anyone?" She asked, "I don't know what Shepard wants to do with this information, if she wants to tell the crew about me, or keep it close. I'm leaving that up to her."

"No, absolutely, yeah I won't tell anyone. It's not really my thing to tell." James said, "Uh...I should get back up to the crew deck."

"By all means, thanks for stopping by." Persephone said and didn't look up as he left. Tears burned her eyes and she wiped them away, cursing herself for being so emotional about this. It seemed she would no longer have to watch herself around Vega, the fact that she was a literal lab experiment appeared to have killed any interest he had shown in her. It was better this way, anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

The gun lowered and Persephone looked at the target with a pained expression. She hadn't completely missed, most of the time. Her accuracy was best when the target was closest, but the farther away it got, the more she missed or hit wounding shots. Looking over at Shepard, she saw her expression guarded.

"Honestly, I've seen worse from some Alliance recruits." Shepard said and Persephone set the gun down on the stand littered with thermal clips.

"I know how to use it, take it apart and put it back together, but I can't shoot worth a damn? What kind of training is that?" The question was rhetorical and she ejected the spent thermal clip.

"The Carnifax has a kick, maybe you just need something with less recoil, or maybe a heavy pistol isn't your thing at all despite what you might think. We can try the M8 Avenger? Yeah, it's an assault rifle, but it's a good beginner weapon with low recoil." Shepard suggested and they went over the gun locker, putting the Carnifax back in the case it had been in when they took it from the Normandy. The two women looked over the array of guns before Shepard pulled the assault rifle from the rack, loading a clip into it. She took it from her and went back over to the stand, shouldering the weapon and letting off controlled bursts with squeezes of the trigger. "That's a little better."

"Not by much." Persephone said, ejecting the clip.

"A little practise, and you'll be fine. Besides, there are plenty of biotics who can't shoot their way out of a paper bag and solely use their abilities in combat. We can keep you in a support role on missions."

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, but you should _not_ be taking me out on missions." Persephone said, "I can barely shoot! I'll be a liability!"

"Not the world saving missions, obviously, but the snatch and grab, or raid missions, you'll be just fine on. The Primarch has one I think you'll be good for, a Turian patrol was shot down over Tuchanka and he wants us to locate survivors. Once the Normandy is done getting restocked, we'll be heading there, we should have a good fix on their location by then." Shepard said, "Come on, let's get this cleaned up and go meet Kaidan for lunch." They picked up the spent thermal clips that have since cooled, dumping them in a bin to be recycled.

It was about a 20 minute taxi ride to Zakera Ward from where they were and the trip was relatively easy. "Hey, kiddo, there's something I want to ask you, but I'll spare you the aggravation and embarrassment and not ask you in front of Kaidan."

"Okay." Persephone said apprehensively. "Ask away."

"Is there something going on between you and Lieutenant Vega?"

"No." She answered quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly.

"Are you sure? Because scuttle butt-"

"Scuttle butt?"

"Ship talk for rumors. Anyway, there's some talk about how you guys are getting a little cozy?" Shepard asked.

"Things change." She said, looking out the window and Shepard was quiet for a moment.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Persephone said. "Even if he was serious about it, which I doubt he was, like I said, things change."

"As long as you're okay."

"I'm fine, Shepard." Persephone said and the mom-in-training Commander gave a sigh, "You've known you're my mom for twenty-four hours, don't think you have to jump in with the boy talk." She gave her a small smile and Shepard shrugged, her own embarrassed smile pulling at the corners of her lips.

"You know Kaidan is going to pull all kinds of dad moves on you, right?" She asked and Persephone snorted.

"He seemed the type."

"He is _absolutely_ the type." Shepard said, "Real talk, though. Kaidan is a dyed in the wool family man, we were talking about starting a family before the Normandy went down and well…"

"Here I am." Persephone said and Shepard reached over, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.

"Here you are." She said, "He's so happy you exist and he wants to get to know you."

"There's really not much to get to know, honestly." She said with a shrug. "Born and raised in a lab with very little outside interaction, I don't know how I know almost all of the stuff I do and what I _can_ remember doesn't tell me anything about my life in that place, however short it might have been. I'm still learning my likes and dislikes, and I solve my problem of limited social skills by limiting my time around people."

"Yeah, EDI tells me you don't venture out from below Engineering much."

"Avoiding people is easy when no one wants you around." Shepard wasn't able to reply to that seeing as it was at that moment that they landed on the Zakera Ward taxi pad. The doors lifted and Persephone got out, looking around the mill of people as Shepard transferred credits for the trip.


	9. Chapter 9

Persephone stared down into the bowl of...whatever it was that Kaidan had ordered her as she hadn't made head or tails of the menu. It appeared to be soup of some kind, filled with thick, white noodles, vegetables, pieces of fish and a whole egg boiled in the highly fragrant broth. The server had warned her that the stoneware bowl it was presented in was very hot, giving her a pair of chopsticks and a shallow oval spoon.

"Are you going to try it?" Kaidan asked, looking at her with a gentle smile.

"I'm waiting." Persephone said.

"For?" He asked.

"I don't know." She said in response and he gave a snort, reaching over and grabbing the spoon and the chopsticks, deftly picking up a long string of noodle and swirling it into the utensil, dipping it into the bowl to gather some of the broth.

"Try that." He said, handing it to her and she took it from him, giving it a look then him before slurping down the noodle. There was a pause, and just for a moment her face lit up in a pleasantly surprised smile before she carefully schooled her expression again.

"It's very good." She said once she had swallowed the mouthful, "I like it."

"I knew you would." Kaidan said, "It's one of my favorites, and you can let yourself enjoy it, you know."

"When I enjoyed something, it was taken away." She said, looking down at the bowl again, stirring the contents with the tip of the spoon.

"This won't be taken away, I promise." Kaidan said, "Except maybe to get wrapped to go in case you don't finish it." She gave a small smile at that, forgoing the use of the chopsticks and using a supplied fork to spear a piece of fish, humming slightly in contentment as she ate it.

"Shepard?" Persephone said and she made a small sound of acknowledgement, watching the interaction between the two with a small smile. "Are you aware we're being recorded? Outside the restaurant, video drone and a woman in a dark dress." She said it without looking up and Shepard scowled, craning in her seat to look behind her.

"Son of a-I'll be right back." Shepard said and got up from her seat, "Kaidan, don't touch my katsu!"

"Of course, Shepard." He said and waited until she was gone before grabbing a piece of delicately fried chicken, eating it quickly as Persephone giggled.

Shepard left the restaurant, heading for the familiar reporter, the light on the video drone turning on as she came close.

"Commander Shepard," The woman said, "Khalisah bint Sinan Al-Jilani, Westerlund-"

"I know who you are, Khalisah, what're you doing here? Don't you have more important things to do than broadcast me having lunch?" Shepard asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Who's the young woman, Shepard?" Khalisah asked, "She has a remarkable resemblance to you and Major Alenko."

"None of your business." Shepard said, "Get lost before I have C-Sec remove you, they owe me more than a few favors."

"How do you justify having a carefree lunch date with Major Alenko and...whoever that is while Reapers tear apart our galaxy? Shouldn't you be doing something about that?" Khalisah said, her tone angry and accusing.

"The Normandy is being restocked, we leave in the morning, so forgive me if I want to spend what little downtime I have with people I care about." Shepard said.

"Someone you care about? Who is she to you, Shepard?"

"Like I said, none of your damn business. Now, if you'll excuse me." She turned on her heel and headed back into the restaurant, retaking her seat and shooting Kaidan a look when she saw that she was missing some of her meal.

"What?" He asked with a shrug. "It was Persephone."

"I had one piece!" Persephone objected with a smile, "One! You had like, three!"

"Did you like it?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty good." Persephone admitted with a shrug, "Do you want some of mine? Will that make it better?"

"I'll be stealing from both of you, thank you very much." Shepard said and set about taking noodles and fish from Persephone's bowl and pieces of the sushi rolls Kaidan had ordered, making up for her pilfered food. Persephone's wide smile suddenly faded as she looked towards the door, a small scowl appearing between her brows. "Persephone?"

"Batarian." She said simply and they both looked at the lone Batarian that had entered the restaurant, pushing past the hostess, her shout attracting attention. "Shepard…" The Batarian stopped a ways away, turning to face their table, but not coming any closer. The jacket he was wearing fell open, revealing a vest strapped with many blinking disks, wires vanishing up the sleeve to the small control in his hand.

Persephone grabbed a steak knife from the table, flipping it in her hand so she was holding the blade and turned in her seat.

"For Ara-!" His head snapped back and he crumpled to the floor, the restaurant knife sunk to the hilt between his lower set of eyes. It had happened so suddenly that no one moved, no one breathed and Shepard looked at Persephone, seeing her standing, arm still extended from throwing the knife.

"My god." Kaidan said, and Persephone seemed to come back to herself, her arm dropping and her eyes darting around the restaurant, seeing the shocked expressions and the dead body on the floor. "Persephone?"

"I don't-I can't-" She stuttered, color draining from her face and faint tremors racking her body. "I have to-" She ran from the restaurant, the hostess jumping out of the way.

"Kaidan." Shepard said, getting up from her chair.

"I'll take care of it. Go." He said and she chased after her.


	10. Chapter 10

Shepard lost her in the crowd and she desperately scanned the press of people for an unruly mop of dark curls, an ill-fitting C-Sec hoodie, _something_ , but saw nothing.

"Damnit." She hissed and opened her comm, "EDI, can you get a fix on Persephone's omnitool?"

"Yes, Shepard. There are also C-Sec reports about an attempted suicide bombing from a Batarian Extremist at the restaurant where you and she were dining with Major Alenko?"

"She killed him before he could detonate his vest and I need to find her. Where is she?" Shepard asked and there was a pause.

"C-Sec filed a report of a young woman matching Persephone's description who surrendered herself stating that she had killed a Batarian."

"She's at C-Sec headquarters on Zakera?"

"Yes, Shepard."

"Thanks, EDI!" The taxi pad to the lower levels had a line, so with a sound of frustration she ran for the stairs, running down them two at a time, going through the different levels until she got to C-Sec, the Turian officer at the desk jumping up as she approached. "Where is she?"

"Commander Shepard?" The officer asked.

"The woman who just turned herself in." She said, "Where is she?"

"She came in confessing to a murder, so we arrested her and placed her in a holding cell." He said, "It wasn't until after we filed the report that we received word of the attempted bombing."

"Are you going to book her?" Shepard asked and he gave a small sound.

"We should be offering her a job." He said.

"Can I see her?"

"We told her she can leave, but she hasn't moved." He said, "She's down the hall a bit."

"Thank you." She said as she moved past him, not really hearing his response. The officer at the door snapped to attention and waved their hand over the sensor, the door opening. Shepard's eyes immediately went to the interrogation platform, but it was empty.

"I'm over here." The voice was small, low, and she looked over, seeing Persephone curled up in a dark corner, knees pulled to her chest.

"Hey, kiddo." She said, going over and sitting down next to her, back against the wall. "C-Sec said you're free to go, you know."

"I killed that Batarian."

"Yes, you did." Shepard said, "By killing him, you saved lives. Yours, mine, Kaidan's, and everyone in that restaurant."

"I could have incapacitated him. Destroyed the detonator, taken out his hand or arm with that knife but I didn't, I killed him." Persephone said, her voice wavering, and Shepard sighed.

"Kiddo, I'm not going to belittle what you're going through right now. Taking a life, especially the first time, is rough, only someone with serious issues wouldn't feel guilt or remorse over that."

"I can barely remember doing it, I remember the knife in my hand and then…" She shrugged.

"You were acting on instinct."

"To _kill?"_

"To _protect_." Shepard said, "You protected your dad and I, and everyone in that room. This is my fault, anyway."

"How so?" Persephone asked, looking at her.

"He didn't get to finish, but I'm pretty sure he was going to say 'For Aratoht.'."

"What's Aratoht?"

"Aratoht is-or rather _was_ -a Batarian colony in the Viper Nebula. About eight months ago, all three hundred thousand Batarians on the planet died when the Alpha Relay was destroyed to keep the Reapers from coming through." Shepard said.

"How was it destroyed?"

"I drove an asteroid the size of a small moon into it." Shepard said, "The Hegemony was pissed that I basically got off with house arrest and a slap on the wrist, but when the Reapers arrived, Batarian space was hit first and well..." She trailed off and after a moment there was a rustle of cloth as Persephone leaned against her, head laying on her shoulder. Her arm lifted so she could wrap it around her and Persephone tucked into her side, Shepard resting her cheek against her hair. They both looked up as the door opened again, Kaidan standing there with a bag.

"Hey, so we'll eat for free there from now on." He said and hefted the bag, "And I got our food to go."

"Ready to go, sweetheart?" Shepard asked and Persephone nodded. The two women got to their feet and headed for the door, but Kaidan handed the bag of food off to Shepard so he could pull Persephone into his arms for a crushing hug which she returned. When they parted, she was sniffling slightly, her eyes shiny with unshed tears and he pulled her back into his arms for a gentler hug, hand at the back of her head.

"You did the right thing, okay? I know it doesn't feel like it, but it was the right thing." His voice was low, soothing. "I know it's stupid, especially given what's going but...I don't know, I wanted to protect you from this. My child shouldn't be killing people."

"Hackett's ordered me to test her combat skills," Shepard said, "See if she's mission worthy."

"Does he know that she's…" Kaidan let it trail off, but they both knew what he meant.

"I haven't told him, and I probably won't." Shepard said, "It's really none of his business."

"Keep her away from Reaper forces." Kaidan said and Persephone pulled away from him, wiping tears from her face and clearing her throat.

"Reapers are easy; they're mindless, soulless. There's nothing in them that's even remotely redeemable." Persephone said, "And Cerberus…." She paused, "Well, I think I'll have no problem with killing Cerberus troops. They might be human, but their humanity is long since gone."

"Nicely put." Shepard said.

"I have my moments." She said with shrug.

"Still hungry?" Kaidan asked, "You still have quite a bit of your soup left."

"Not really," Persephone said and they made for the door, "But I can take it back to the Normandy, yeah?"

"Of course." Shepard said, "You need to eat more than energy fruit bars and Tupari, Persephone."

"That's not healthy," Kaidan said, "Especially for a biotic. You need to eat more to sustain yourself."

"I know that, I do, it's just…" She left it trail off, "I don't know."

"Promise me you'll at least _try_ to eat more?" Kaidan asked and she gave a sigh.

"I promise." She said and they went to leave C-Sec, but as they passed by the Officer's desk, a video caught her eye. It was of the restaurant and she watched as she grabbed the knife and threw it, killing the Batarian before he was able to detonate his vest.

"All things considering," Shepard said, as she and Kaidan watched it with her, "It was a nice throw. You can't shoot worth a damn, but you're good with knives."

"Why would-" She cast a look at the C-Sec officers, " _Those people_ train me in knives and not guns? What kind of training is that?"

"I don't know, sweetheart." Shepard said, "But it looks like I might have to change your training a bit. Can't even imagine how you'll be with hand-to-hand."

"Damn good, probably." Kaidan said, "Knife training? That's all up close work."

"But what if they didn't teach me to stop?" Persephone wondered, "No stopping when the other person yields, just…"

"Yeah." Shepard said and Kaidan grabbed Persephone's hand again, squeezing it gently.

"I hate how much I don't know about myself."

"We'll get it figured out, kiddo." Shepard said and they left C-Sec, heading for the taxi pad. Kaidan gave her one last hug, he and Shepard kissing briefly before they parted. They needed to go to the Docking Bays and he was needed back up on the Presidium.

She was quiet on the taxi ride back, container of soup still warm in her hands. The taxi landed and she got out as Shepard paid and they made their way through the civilians and military crowding around the docking bay.

"Shepard." She had that tone again, like the one she had in the restaurant, letting her know trouble was coming.

"Ah hell." Shepard said, seeing the mass of press around the airlock to the Normandy. They hadn't seen them yet which was a blessing, so Persephone pulled her hood up, obscuring her features and clutched her container tightly so not to lose it.

"Commander Shepard!" The call went out and they pushed forward as they were suddenly surrounded.

 _"Is this the girl that killed the Batarian?"_

 _"Who do you think he was?"_

 _"Was this an isolated incident, or do you suspect this is retaliation from the Hegemony?"_

 _"Where did she receive her training?"_

 _"Where did you recruit her?"_

"Make a fucking hole!" The call was booming, fierce, and the press jumped back as James and Cortez pushed through, the large marine parting the wave easily. James wrapped an arm around her shoulders, shielding her from the press of people and camera drones as faint tremors began. She leaned into him gratefully, letting him guide her back to the ship as she kept her head down. She felt Cortez at her back, keeping the reporters from crowding behind them and Shepard wrapped her arm around her waist. Safety was forward, not back. Persephone kept having to remind herself of that, the press getting more persistent the closer they got to the airlock door. C-Sec was waiting for them, keeping the reporters back as they finally reached the secured zone and the doors closed behind them, the sound of people cutting off abruptly.

"Fucking _pendejos_." James growled out, his arm staying around her shoulders.

"What're you two doing here?" Shepard asked.

"EDI said you might need some help." Steve said with a shrug.

"Thank you." Persephone said, her voice small and trembling slightly.

"Are you okay?" James asked, turning her to face him.

"Lots of people make me nervous." She said.

"I know, _linda_." James said and moved as if he was going to take her into his arms, but she stepped away from him, heading into the ship with a quickly muttered:

"I need to be alone."

Shepard hadn't failed to notice the interaction, or how James had protected her and went to him, standing in front of him with her arms folded over her stomach.

"I asked her and she said there was nothing going on between you two." She said, "Is there something starting between you two?" James paused, looking at the airlock then down, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair.

"No, Lola," He said, "There's nothing going on."

"Vega-" Steve started, but stopped when he threw up a hand on his way back onto the ship.

"Cortez?"

"Don't look at me, Commander," Steve said, "I don't know what's going on with him these days."


	11. Chapter 11

Persephone sat quiet in the back of the shuttle, the borrowed armor a bit uncomfortable, making her have to tug in places. Shepard said they would get her outfitted with her own, but for now, standard issue Alliance armor would have to suffice. James stood at the other end, hand up and grasping the cargo netting stretched across the ceiling. Turbulence caused the shuttle to buffet every so often and she could hear Shepard and Cortez talking up at the helm.

"Nervous?" She looked up, seeing James standing close and she shrugged.

"A little, I guess."

"You'll be fine." He said, "Shepard said you're on support duty; barriers and shit?"

"Crowd control, too." Persephone said, "Thinning the herd, so to speak."

"Well don't thin this herd and you're good." He said and she snorted. His armor was heavy plating, making him look even more massive in the chest and shoulders, narrowing down to a tapered waist and trim hips, balanced out by heavy braces around his thighs. An assault rifle was secured on his back, a shotgun in the clips against the base of his spine and she touched her own pistol lightly, Shepard having insisted that she carry a gun even though she was a poor shot. The Commander had programmed a blade into her omnitool, showing her how to activate it if she needed to.

"We're approaching the LZ." Shepard called back and Persephone stood from her seat, going to move around him to the hatch. The shuttle bucked and Vega wrapped an arm around her waist, gloved hands going to the steely plates on his chest as he pulled her against him to steady her. Heat rushed to her face as she looked up at him, and she cursed the fact that she had put her hair up in a twist, as she was unable to hide her blush. He stared down at her, unfairly hazel eyes darted down then back up as she wet lips suddenly dry, his arm tightening around her waist. She could swear she felt the heat of his hand even through his glove and the high density weave of her undersuit.

His lips pulled into a small smirk as he looked down at her and he leaned in so he could whisper without the others hearing.

"You're flaring." He said, "Your eyes have gone a little...swirly."

"It's n-nerves." She stammered and his smile widened. "About the mission."

"About the mission." He repeated, "Right." She wanted to grab him and kiss him, see for herself if his lips were as soft as they looked, but he was just playing with her. Empty flirting that didn't mean anything. The reality of it hit home and she pushed away from and around him, joining Shepard as she came from the front. This feigned interest he kept showing was just a game to him, that much was obvious. He was toying with her whether for his own amusement or for some other reason, she didn't know.

It was time to start distancing herself from him before she got hurt.

The shuttle didn't so much as touch down as hover within jumping distance of the ground and the hatch lifted. The heat and dust of Tuchanka was quick and oppressive and Persephone gave a moment's pause before she followed Shepard and Vega out of the shuttle, dirt and rocks crunching under her boots.

"There's a Turian platoon somewhere in these ruins along with Reaper patrols." Shepard said, "EDI, can you get us a line to Lieutenant Victus?"

 _"I can try, Shepard, but the connection is bad."_

"Lieutenant Victus, this is Commander Shepard of the Normandy, I need you to send up a flare so we know your location." She said and there was a small boom before a flare arced into the sky. "I see it, we're on our way, just hold tight."

"Lola?" James asked.

"They're pinned by Reaper forces and there's pockets of soldiers along the crash path." She said and pulled the rifle from her back, activating her tech armor. "Let's move out. Persephone?"

"I'm ready." She said and Shepard gave her a nod before they started moving forward.

Persephone mostly stayed away from her pistol, using her biotics to defend the others. She Threw Marauders over cliffs or into crumbling pillars, used Warp fields to tear apart Husks and put a Barrier on James when he decided to rush off by himself, Shepard's sound of frustration letting her know that this has happened before.

She projected a biotic field over a group of Turian soldiers, the blast from the Harvester against the barrier feeling like a punch to the chest.

"Persephone!" Shepard called out, "We got forces inbound, get to cover!"

"If I move, the barrier will drop!" She called back.

"Now, Persephone! That's an order!" Persephone's shields buffeted as she was fired upon by Cannibals and Ravagers and just as the VI in her visor beeped at her to let her know her shields were about to fail, she dropped the barrier and let out a biotic wave, blasting the Reaper forces away and falling back behind cover.

"You okay, kiddo?" Shepard called over to her.

"I'm fine!" She responded, her implant searing. The Harvester flew off and she sat there a minute while Shepard checked the soldiers' status. James came over and reached a hand down and she took it, letting him help her to her feet.

"You alright?" He asked and she nodded. Pulling open a pouch on his belt, he dug out a fruit bar and handed it to her. "Eat this, you're looking a little pale."

"Thank you." She said, taking it from him, ripping open the wrapper and taking a bite. "Ugh, cherry."

"Well I'm sorry, _linda_ , we didn't have any strawberry pineapple ones." He said with a smile, " _Someone_ ate them all."

"Well why'd you have to go and do that, Vega? Rude." She teased back and he gave a small chuckle.

"Hold still, you have bit of um...dirt on your-" He reached out, holding the side of her jaw as his thumb brushed dirt off her cheek. His thumb slowed then stopped as he stared down at her and there was a small tug as he pulled her closer even as he leaned in.

"You guys good?" Shepard's voice snapped the moment and they pulled away from each other, Vega looking away.

"We're good." He said, clearing his throat, and Persephone moved away from him, munching on her fruit bar as her cheeks flamed, not even tasting the slightly chemical cherry flavor anymore.


	12. Chapter 12

Lieutenant Victus and his remaining platoon were holding valiantly against the Reaper forces even as their rescue was pinned down by enemy fire. There was a sickening crunch as Persephone Pulled and Threw at the same time, two Ravagers colliding into a pulpy mass. A Harvester circled overhead and they ducked down out of sight, the Turians across the way doing the same.

"Shepard." Persephone said and she looked at her, "I have an idea."

"Am I going to like this idea?" She asked.

"Probably not." She admitted and dove out of cover, pulling her boot knife. "Cover me!"

"Persephone!" Both Shepard and James called after her, but she paid them no mind, running across the ruins, dodging enemy fire and slashing any that got in her way. She threw the blade, imbedding it in the chest of a Cannibal that moved to intercept her, pulling a jagged piece of piping from a pile of rubble.

Running up a toppled column, she leapt as the Harvester flew past, landing on it's back. It was everything they could do to keep watch on her while also the Reaper forces. Grabbing a piece of tech protruding from its back, she held on as it bucked and swerved, trying to unseat her. It gave a mechanical screech as she jammed the pipe into the top of its head and there was a shimmer of biotics. Persephone jumped from the Harvester as it's head exploded in a spray of tech and gore, blown apart from the inside from a biotic pulse, the pipe used as a conduit. However, she wasn't able to get far enough away as the body detonated and she got caught in the blast, the shockwave flinging her across the ruins. She hit hard against the side of the crashed ship and fell to the ground at the feet of the Turian soldiers, not moving.

"Persephone!" Nightmares ran through Shepard's head as she leapt over stone and barriers in her way to the soldiers. Broken spine, crushed skull, massive internal injuries, anything that could cost Persephone her life. She wanted to be angry at her, wanted to curse and rage, but she was too worried, and she had to admit, a little impressed.

A Turian was helping her to her feet when she got to her and she breathed a sigh of relief. Her armor was a little banged up and tendrils of dark hair had escaped the twist, but she seemed relatively unharmed.

"Ow." She said when she got to her, leaning heavily against the Turian that had helped her up, hand gripping his forearm.

"Commander Shepard, I'm Lieutenant Tarquin Victus." The Turian said and Shepard looked him over. She didn't see a family resemblance to the Primarch, but that didn't mean much. "I want to thank you for coming to our aid."

"What happened, Lieutenant?" Shepard asked and he sighed.

"I made a bad call." He said, "There was a confirmed Reaper patrol in the area, so instead of taking the direct route, I aired on the side of caution and entered the ruins. We encountered resistance and with limited room to maneuver…" He let it trail off.

"How is that your fault?" Persephone asked, her voice tight. "We ran into _three_ Harvesters on the way to you, any one of those could have taken out your ship and killed you and everyone aboard. Yeah, it went to shit, but your men are alive."

"I didn't...think of it like that." Tarquin said, looking down at her. "What you did was incredible, by the way, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Persephone said with a small, reassuring smile. "I'll be covered in bruises tomorrow, but I'll be fine."

"Tell me about your mission, Lieutenant." Shepard said and he turned his attention back to her.

"There's a bomb, a big one, strapped to the planet and Cerberus is planning on detonating it." Tarquin said, "The devastation would be astronomical, Commander."

"We need to stop Cerberus from detonating that bomb." Shepard said.

"Agreed." Tarquin said, "But I can not ask my men to complete this mission, we're a third of what we were, it'd be suicide."

"You're abandoning your mission?" Shepard asked, "Do I need to remind you, Lieutenant, that we need Krogan support to fight this war? If this bomb detonates, the Krogan will have to retreat and we lose that support."

"But my men-"

"Your men need to realize that this is bigger than themselves, that yes, the odds are not in their favor, but their sacrifice ensures that no one else will have go through this." Shepard said and he sighed. "This is all still fresh, so it won't be easy, but you have to rally what's left of your platoon and complete this mission."

"After you get medical attention." Persephone said and they looked at her. "Come on, Shepard, half his men can't even stand and I see-" She looked him over quickly, "Three places where his armor is cracked. We need to get them back to the Normandy so Dr. Chakwas can look them over. The odds will be more in their favor if they don't go into it injured."

"She has a point, Lola." James cut in, "They need to be one hundred percent if they want to pull this off."

"After you get medical attention." Shepard conceded, "I'll call the shuttle, you get your men together. James, please take the Dragonslayer." He gave a snort and moved to take Persephone from the Lieutenant.

"Come here, Dragonslayer." He said and Tarquin seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he passed her off to him as Shepard called Cortez for a pick-up.


	13. Chapter 13

The Turians were getting checked over, the small medbay already crowded with the Female Krogan and Mordin with his equipment. Tarquin stayed off to the side in the galley, insisting that his men get looked over first and that his injuries weren't severe enough to warrant attention. The Primarch had come from the War Room to observe the happenings, Tarquin very pointedly avoiding eye contact with him.

"He's going to want to talk to you eventually, you know." Persephone said next to him, having changed out of her armor into a hoodie and pair of sweatpants, her feet bare.

"I know, I'm just hoping he sees it how you did." Tarquin said, "I still feel like it was a bad call."

"That's because it's the only outcome you went through," Persephone said shrugging, but grimaced slightly in pain.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, looking over at her.

"I'll feel a lot worse tomorrow." She said and reached up slowly, taking her hair down from the twist, rifling through it a little with her fingers to loosen it.

"Spirits." Tarquin whispered and she looked at him.

"What?" She asked and he looked away, the thin skin of his neck darkening slightly.

"Nothing." He said, his mandibles twitching. She watched him for a moment before pushing away from the island they had been leaning against.

"I need to take a shower." She said, going to move away from him.

"Do you need help?" He asked and she whipped back around to look at him, a small smirk pulling at her lips as his eyes widened. "I mean, _getting_ to the shower, not with the actual showering. Because you're a little stiff- _sore_ , I mean you're a little _sore_ and-Spirits I'm going to stop talking now." He said, putting a hand to his face as his neck darkened considerably.

"I think I'll manage." Persephone said, "But thanks for the offer?" He made a sound, still not looking at her and she chuckled, shaking her head as she walked away towards the elevator. When she was gone, he felt someone watching him and he looked around, seeing Lieutenant Vega staring at him, his expression carefully guarded. He must have seen the whole exchange. He didn't have the chance to think about why that seemed to bother him as it was then the Primarch came over.

"Tarquin, I need to speak with you about what happened today." He said and Tarquin gave another sigh.

"Yes, father."

Persephone was sitting cross legged on the cot when she heard footsteps on the stairs, looking up from the datapad.

"Hey." She said, seeing Tarquin standing there.

"The AI told me you stayed down here." He said quickly, "Is it okay if I…"

"Find a seat." She said and he gave her a grateful look, clearing off a crate and sitting down heavily. "What's up?"

"The Primarch and I had a nice little talk." He said.

"How'd it go?"

"He did see it your way." He admitted, "That taking the long way really was the best decision, despite the casualties."

"But?"

"But my role as the head of the Ninth Platoon has been altered somewhat."

"How so?"

"I will no longer lead them in a combat capacity, but in a non-combat tactical role." Tarquin said, "In a few days, once everyone is patched up and back to where they need to be, one of my men will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and will lead what's left on the field, while I coordinate with them on the Normandy as they scout the area around the bomb site."

"Okay." Persephone said, sensing there was more.

"But when the area is sufficiently mapped, I will be joining them on Tuchanka to help diffuse it as I have the most experience with heavy ordinance."

"How do you feel about this?" She asked, setting her datapad aside and he gave a deflating sigh, his shoulders dropping.

"Relieved? As bad as that sounds." Tarquin said, "I was never good at front line stuff, was always better in a tactical advisory role. Knowing all the information, seeing every angle of the board and how it all fits together. You know what I mean?" She made a sound, nodding. "And after this is over, I don't know what he'll do with me."

"I'm sure it'll all work out, Tarquin." Persephone said, reaching over and laying her hand on his arm. "Did you get checked out by the Doctor?"

"Yes." He said nodding, "She was very insistent. Honestly, there are Generals who could take a lesson or two from her."

"How do you feel about being on the Normandy?" Persephone asked.

"This is an amazing ship." Tarquin said, "There isn't a Turian on Palaven who hasn't heard of Commander Shepard or Garrus Vakarian. Stopping Saren Arterius, defeating the Collectors, they're almost legendary."

"I had no idea."

"How could you _not_ know? They were all over the extranet last year and a couple of years before that." Tarquin said and she sighed, giving him a pained expression. "What?"

"I wasn't...around, a couple of years ago."

"What?"

"Tarquin, I'm only about a year old." Persephone said and he blinked at her.

"What?"

"I was genetically modified to fully grown and raised in a laboratory." She said, "Commander Shepard is my mother, biologically speaking, but I didn't meet her until a few weeks ago."

"Did she...know about you?" he asked delicately.

"She didn't even know I was her daughter until my father noticed physical similarities between us and she had our DNA compared." Persephone said.

"Who's your father?"

"Major Kaidan Alenko."

"The Second Human Spectre is your father."

"I have his eyes, apparently." She said with a shrug and he looked away from her.

"Spirits," He said, "Talk about a pedigree. I thought it was bad that my father is the new Primarch of Palaven."

"It's not so bad." Persephone said, picking at her nails a little. "The term Spectre doesn't mean anything to me, so to _me_ they're just Madeline and Kaidan."

"That makes sense." Tarquin said, "Persephone, can I...ask you something?"

"By all means."

"Are you bonded with anyone?"

"Bonded?" She asked, her brow furrowing slightly.

"You know…" She continued to stare at him curiously, "Mated." The skin of his neck darkened again.

"You're asking if I'm seeing anyone?" She asked and his blush deepened.

"Yes." Tarquin said and her thoughts immediately went to James, but that was…

"No, I'm not with anyone." The corners of his mandibles lifted in what might have been a small smile.

"It's getting late, I should leave you to rest." Tarquin said and stood from the crate, "Goodnight, Persephone."

"Goodnight, Tarquin." She said and watched as he left. When he was gone, she fell back onto the cot, a goofy smile pulling at her lips.


End file.
